This Is Your Life (UK)
This is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64. Michael Aspel then took up the role of host until the show ended in 2003. It returned in 2007 as a one-off special presented by Trevor McDonald, which to date was its most recent airing. In the show the host surprises a special guest, before taking them through their life with the assistance of the 'big red book'. Both celebrities and non-celebrities have been 'victims' of the show. The show was originally broadcast live, and over its run it has alternated between being broadcast on the BBC and on ITV. History The British version of the show was launched in 1955 on the BBC and was first presented by Ralph Edwards to the first "victim", Eamonn Andrews, who was the presenter from the second show. It ended in 1964 when he moved to Associated British Corporation, but it was revived on ITV (produced by Thames Television) in 1969. The only other occasion during Andrews' presentational run where he was not the presenter was in 1974 when he was the subject a second time, and the show was presented by David Nixon. Michael Aspel (himself, a "victim" in 1980) became presenter after Andrews died in 1987. The show returned to the BBC in 1994 but was still produced independently by Thames Television. The programme was axed again in 2003. At first, the show was always broadcast live; later, programmes were sometimes pre-recorded. Live broadcasts ended in 1983 when Alan Minter could not stop swearing during his appearance, but newspapers were able to find out which star was to be featured and ratings dropped as people no longer watched it just to see who was on that week. The show returned in June 2007 on ITV for a one-off special programme hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald with guest Simon Cowell. The new edition was co-produced by ITV Productions, STV Productions, TIYL Productions, Click TV and Ralph Edwards Productions. Host Ralph Edwards (1955), Eamonn Andrews (1955-1964, 1969-1987), David Nixon (1974), Michael Aspel (1987-2003) & Trevor McDonald (2007) Guests *Des O'Connor *Des Lynam *Bruce Forsyth *Bob Monkhouse *Jimmy Tarbuck *Ken Dodd *Val Doonican *Richard Whiteley *Max Bygraves *Tom O'Connor *Freddie Starr *Ronnie Corbett *Stan Boardman *Frankie Vaughan *Carol Vorderman *Les Dawson *Jim Davidson *Bobby Charlton *George Best *Denis Law *Bobby Moore *Matt Busby *Geoff Hurst *Gordon Banks *Bryan Robson *David Beckham *Nobby Stiles *Bobby Robson *Alex Ferguson *Harry Driver *Jack Smethurst *Nina Baden-Semper *Kate Williams *Jimmy Jewel *Rudolph Walker *Wilfred Pickles *Joe Gladwin *Madge Hindle *Peggy Mount *Hylda Baker *Irene Handl *Twiggy *Honor Blackman *Diana Rigg *Patrick Macnee *Shirley Eaton *Sean Connery *Linda Thorson *Ursula Andress *Ian Hendry *The Beverly Sisters *Dickie Henderson *Jimmy Young *Russ Conway *John Fairfax *Chay Blyth *Jim Shekhdar *Uffa Fox *Henry Cooper *Muhammad Ali *Joe Bugner *Frank Bruno *Joe Frazier *Ken Norton *Joe Erskine *Jackie Stewart *Graham Hill *Stirling Moss *Damon Hill *Nigel Mansell *Jimmy Savile *Gary Glitter *Rolf Harris *Cyril Smith *Dave Lee Travis *Stuart Hall *William Roache *Tony Blackburn *Esther Rantzen *Edward Heath *Arthur Dooley *Wendy Craig *John Mortimer *Michael Starke *Tony Jacklin *Jack Nicklaus *Sandy Lyle *Ian Woosnam *Arnold Palmer *Sam Torrance *Peter Alliss *Charlie Cairoli *Norman Barrett *Coco The Clown *Syd Little and Eddie Large *Anna Neagle *Sylvia Syms *Jessie Matthews *Margaret Lockwood *Trevor Howard *Tommy Cooper *Frankie Howard *Eric Morecambe *Ernie Wise *Eric Sykes *Arthur Askey *Benny Hill *Larry Grayson *Roy Hudd *Frank Carson *Danny La Rue *David Nixon *Ali Bongo *Anita Harris *Gilbert Harding *Isobel Barnett *Barbera Kelly *Geoffrey Durham *Paul Daniels *Robert Harbin *Leslie Crowther *David Berglas *Bernard Braden *Cyril Fletcher *Kenneth Williams *Sid James *Hattie Jacques *Charles Hawtrey *Bernard Bresslaw *Joan Sims *Terry Scott *Kenneth Connor *Dick Emery *Tony Hancock *Jim Dale *June Whitfield *Talbot Rothwell *Norman Wisdom *Jerry Desmonde *George Formby *Charlie Drake *Ronnie Barker * Category:Children's